Trending News Today: High Deductible Health Plans Linked to Delayed, Foregone Cancer Care

A new study found that cancer survivors in high deductible health plans (HDHPs) were more likely delay or forego care altogether, the American Cancer Society reported. According to the article, the 2010 to 2017 National Health Interview Survey was used to identify privately insured adults aged 18 to 64 years. Even when covered by private insurance, cancer survivors enrolled in HDHPs, with or without a health savings account, were more likely to experience delayed/foregone care compared with those enrolled in low deductible health plans, the article reported.

Sarepta Therapeutics announced that it was informed that an adverse event report was erroneously submitted to the FDA for its gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Reuters reported. According to the article, the incident involved a 7-year-old patient who developed rhabdomyolysis. The drug safety monitoring board has recommended the study to continue after a review, the article reported.

A new study suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) can improve breast cancer detection efficacy in the imaging tool digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), The American Journal of Managed Care reported. According to the article, the study evaluated the use of AI to ameliorate DBT reading time while maintaining or improving accuracy. Overall, AI use represented an overall statistically significant improvement in accuracy and shorter reading times, the article reported.